Which country should I travel to? Your two cents.

Next summer (2012), my 23 year old brother and I are planning to travel to another country for about 4 weeks. A little bit about myself and my travel experience: I am a young girl (heading to college next year) and I do not have a wealth of experience in foreign countries. I have been to the Bahamas, Australia, Costa Rica (with my family) and, most recently, Guatemala (with a group of fellow young students). My brother, on the other hand, has much more experience. Two years ago he backpacked through Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey. This last year, he traveled through Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. On both trips, it was just him and a friend. He definitely likes to rough it when he travels. Camping and staying in hostels. Never spending much money. So I am guessing that's how we will be traveling next summer. But we should make a good pair overseas because my brother is the spontaneous, outgoing, impulsive one, while I am more cautious and logical.

The trip is a graduation gift to me from my brother, so he will be paying for about half of it. The other half I have to save up for. Basically, we are certainly on a budget. We want to travel somewhere that doesn't require a great deal of money. If we had to pay a lot on plane fares, but very little once we were actually in the country, that would be ideal. Or, if plane tickets were cheap but living in the country was a little more expensive, that would also be OK.

India is the country that we have been talking about for the past year, but I wanted to consider other countries as well. Our list currently consists of India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Poland, and Iceland (Iceland fascinates me, but since it is expensive and my brother would really prefer to be in Asia, I think it might get taken off the list). Since I do not have a lot of experience traveling, I am open to any kind of experience. But just for reference, a few things about traveling that interest me are the communities, culture, and nature.

So now I wanted to ask you, which country would you recommend? Or if you can't choose a country to recommend, what information or advice do you have about any of the countries. ANY and ALL advice is greatly appreciated! Let me know if I should include more details. Reply to this

Heya, i agree with Shane...try somewhere like Indonesia or the south east asian counties such as thailand, malaysia, vietnam and singapore. They all have amazing cultures to themselves, different foods, different environments, different religions, different histories and different landscapes but are also used to english speaking tourists so you wont be completely out of your depth so to speak. There is such a massive difference between the country towns and villages and the huge captial cities. Also...it is cheap cheap cheap and if youre willing to go super cheap you can find accomodation in places for even AUD$5 a night and meals will easily be less than AUD$3.

Good luck and i'm sure it will be amazing wherever you decide to go!
tam Reply to this

Hi Lena,

Welcome to travel blog. The trip with your brother sounds exciting. What a nice graduation trip. I agree with everyone above.

You could easily spend one month in Thailand.
You could easily spend a month in Viet nam.
You could split a month between Laos and Cambodia.
These areas keep being suggested because they are inexpensive.

Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan should be given some consideration.

Since you are going in the summer you might consider Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus. This area will not be as inexpensive but you can find hostels that will do the trick. The weather will be nice in the summertime so you may want to consider it. Reply to this

Bhutan is supposed to be fantastic, known as the upmarket version of Nepal, mainly due to the minimum spend stipulated in the government each day (between $165-200 depending on the season). You must go with an approved travel provider.

Tibet is a difficult place to plan too far ahead, mainly due to irregular changes in entry regulations, but if you have time and are patient, you should get in.

Don't know much about Nepal, am sure someone else can comment.

I have been to Bangladesh, but don't think it would have the attractions that the other countries have after reading your last paragraph - Buddhism is in the minority there.

You should also consider Myanmar - not travelled to as often as Thailand but it seems to have plenty of Buddhist places. I'm travelling there in December and am looking forward to it greatly. Reply to this

why don't you list Vietnam on your schedule? It's an interesting destination to visit with very cheap price, best services, and many beautiful sights. Join us now!

Kieu Oanh
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Reply to this

Hi,

If you are just thinking about India, then you must visit India, because India is great country having culture and heritage.

Visiting in India will definitely give you a memorable experience.

So come to India and experience the "Incredible India" Reply to this

My month in India was one of the greatest experiences of my life. Spent most of it in and around Bangalore. Travel Camel is right about an assault on the senses, it is frankly overwhelming at first, but it's also just so amazingly different from anything I had experienced before that every day was full of new adventures, smells, tastes, etc. My 2 cents. Reply to this

According to me India is the best place for traveling because their are many places in India for traveling and their are many kinds of Hotels in India for stay. I really like India very much.


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You cannot really do Bhutan on a budget and it is not really conducive to backpacking as they restrict the number of tourists that enter the country to less than 10,000 a year. Also to get around, you,ll need to hire a 4x4 since there really is no form of regular public transport. I did the whole country in 2 weeks. Very spiritual and I often found myself spending whole afternoons with the apprentice monks in the Dzongs. Reply to this

I would Recommend Nicaragua for the time table you are looking at, it has so much to see and do and will not break your pockets, the people are amazing and the sunsets on the west coast are 2nd to none! it seems you and your brother have been to a few central american countries so far, but I will say Nicaragua is the jewel of central america and virtually untouched!

amazing people, sights, prices, beaches, volcanoes etc etc etc

that would be my 2 cents

Enjoy!!

Greg Reply to this